Serpent Ancestor

”Go!”

Xu Hei pointed forward, and the True Dragon Sword shot out like a flash of lightning across the sky, bypassing the massive hand that covered the heavens, and thrust towards the target in the desert.

The sword light was incredibly fast, almost like teleportation, piercing through layers of sand defenses. This startled Luo Gang, and just as it was about to hit, a sharp sound rang out.

”Clang!!”

It was as if it had struck an iron pot, and the immense recoil made the sword body tremble violently. A pile of black sand appeared beside Luo Gang, clamping down on the True Dragon Sword like iron pincers, with a suction force that even absorbed the energy of the flying sword.

”Boom!!”

A thousand-foot handprint plunged into the sea, its terrifying destructive power causing a massive tsunami within the hundred-mile sea area, the handprint reaching straight for Xu Hei.

”Condense Ice!”

Xu Hei immediately used the fourth form of the Azure Dragon Immortal Spell, Condense Ice, freezing all the seawater.

The overwhelming tsunami, frozen in mid-air in the form of waves, even the massive handprint was frozen in the seawater, creating a spectacular scene.”Not a bad response!”

Luo Gang changed his hand gesture, and Xu Hei’s True Dragon Sword was tightly wrapped in a large mass of black sand.

This black sand was his life-bound magical treasure, called Magnetic Sand, which could only be refined into a single grain per day. This pile was accumulated over decades.

At this moment, Xu Hei lost his sense of the True Dragon Sword.

Both sides’ attacks were neutralized, but Xu Hei lost his True Dragon Sword. Luo Gang changed his hand gesture again, and needles made of magnetic sand shot violently towards Xu Hei.

Even the seawater formed by Condense Ice was pierced instantly by the needles. Xu Hei knew he couldn’t hold back any longer and immediately used Dragon Battle in the Wild, transforming into a dragon form, and unleashed a Dragon Shatter Roar towards the needles.

A shocking scene unfolded as the strange black needles absorbed the sound waves of the Dragon Shatter Roar with tiny vortices.

Xu Hei then used Summon Wind and Rain, an instant divine ability, but it was still useless. Any attack that approached was absorbed.

”Thud, thud, thud...”

The needles fell, heavily striking Xu Hei’s dragon scales, sending him flying. Although they didn’t penetrate his scales, the impact caused his true essence to leak, draining half of his strength.

”What is this thing?”

Xu Hei had never seen such a magical treasure and was utterly shocked.

His opponent’s rank was thirty-eight stars, with strength at the Great Perfection of the Elemental Infant stage. Xu Hei hadn’t expected to win, but he thought he could at least put up a fight. Yet, he found himself utterly powerless.

In a single exchange, his strongest flying sword was controlled, and his divine abilities were useless against the strange needles.

Xu Hei held on for a short while before ultimately losing.

Luo Gang leaped over to Xu Hei, who was surrounded by magnetic sand, and said, ”It’s only been a year, and you’ve grown so strong!”

Clearly, Luo Gang recognized Xu Hei.

A year ago, Xu Hei was just a junior who needed to borrow his insight to comprehend breakthroughs. In just one year, he could now fight on equal footing with him.

Although Luo Gang won, he believed he had the advantage due to the magnetic sand, his trump card, which he wouldn’t waste in an external battle.

Xu Hei shook his head helplessly, ”But I still lost.”

Luo Gang landed and released Xu Hei from the magnetic sand, saying, ”No wonder a hundred-star expert took you as a disciple. Such talent is truly unprecedented.”

”With your current skills, reaching twenty stars shouldn’t be a problem.”

Luo Gang gave a fair assessment.

Twenty stars equated to entering the threshold of late Elemental Infant stage combat power. For a cultivator who had just broken through, this was already high praise.

”With skills like yours, you won’t miss the upcoming outer battlefield, will you?” Luo Gang suddenly asked.

”Outer battlefield?”

Xu Hei’s eyes flashed.

He was familiar with the term. Reaching the Elemental Infant stage, it was something they would inevitably encounter.

At the Elemental Infant stage, ordinary cultivation environments could no longer satisfy them. Even in the Penglai Sea, it could only stabilize their realm, making breakthroughs difficult.

In such circumstances, to reach the mid or late Elemental Infant stage, they needed to seek better environments.

—The outer battlefield!

The outer battlefield, as the name suggests, is a place connected to the outer realm, said to be a fragment fallen from the upper world. The quality and concentration of spiritual qi there far exceed any corner of this cultivation star.

It’s no exaggeration to say that more than half of those who break through to the mid-Elemental Infant stage have been to the outer battlefield.

Of course, staying locally doesn’t mean one can’t cultivate, but it requires more time, greater difficulty, and almost no chance of advancing to the Divine Transformation stage.

Even the likes of the master, Water Kylin, and Jiang Chong have trained in the outer battlefield, where they broke through to the mid-Elemental Infant stage.

”I do have plans, but it’s a significant matter that requires careful consideration,” Xu Hei said.

”Hehe, if you go to the outer battlefield, feel free to find me in Liefeng City. I’ll be waiting to join forces,” Luo Gang said with a smile, cupping his fists.

”Alright,” Xu Hei nodded.

...

Next, Xu Hei changed his token and entered the rankings.

Starting from one star, Xu Hei crushed his opponents, winning battle after battle.

As Luo Gang predicted, Xu Hei won twenty consecutive matches, only losing in the twenty-first due to disguising himself as a human instead of using his true form.

His star count stopped at twenty stars.

When Xu Hei left the combat tower, two days had passed.

”Outer battlefield...”

Xu Hei recalled the battles over the past two days, where more than one opponent mentioned the outer battlefield.

Some, seeing Xu Hei’s formidable strength, extended invitations like Luo Gang.

Of course, Xu Hei didn’t give any answers.

He couldn’t determine their true intentions, whether the invitations were genuine or had ulterior motives, not even trusting Luo Gang completely.

After all, the outer battlefield was a place where one could easily lose everything.

”I should ask the master about the situation,” Xu Hei headed straight for the central island.

...

The central island of the Penglai Sea was a floating island with a grand palace atop it.

Inside the palace was the Four Seas and Eight Desolations Formation, the core of this realm. Even elders weren’t qualified to enter, only the true core high-level figures were.

At this moment, two human cultivators were arguing fiercely inside the palace, one of them being the master.

The other was Meng Sheng, one of the three island lords.

With the Water Kylin fallen, only the two of them remained as island lords.

”This must not happen! Mo Xuan, Cang Ye, Yu Jianqiu, and the Nine-Headed Snake have just fallen, and you’re already reaching into the Penglai Sea. What do you take our years of alliance for?” the master rebuked angrily.

The other voice was equally unyielding, ”I’m also thinking about the development of the Penglai Sea. Do you think I want to take over this mess?”

Meng Sheng argued with a flushed face, ”Now, the Penglai Sea is leaderless, and the strongest, Jing Wuji, is only at the mid-Elemental Infant stage, having lived just three hundred years. How can he bear such a responsibility? How can he command respect?”

”Do you think I want to waste my energy here? I’m also doing it for their good...”

Before Meng Sheng could finish, the master interrupted sharply.

”Enough! I don’t care what you’re plotting. Now, return the Four Seas and Eight Desolations Formation and the island lord’s token immediately. Otherwise, if the demonic beasts find out, what will they think?”

The master’s voice was loud, his anger unmistakable.

The Four Seas and Eight Desolations Formation was the core of the Penglai Sea’s formations, and the island lord’s token was the symbol of ultimate authority.

Meng Sheng stared at him for a long time, then shook his head, ”Xiao Xun, you’ve disappointed me!”

”The Penglai Sea is already a mess. Even the Simulated Combat Tower is controlled by a junior. What future can such a place have? If left unchecked, it will collapse in a few years. Xiao Xun, think carefully about what you should do!”

After speaking, Meng Sheng headed for the palace door, leaving without looking back.

Suddenly, a dark figure appeared at the palace entrance.

It was Xu Hei.

Due to the formation’s isolation, Xu Hei didn’t know what had just happened inside, but from their expressions, it seemed like an unpleasant situation.

He also heard the master’s real name, Xiao Xun.

”How can you be here?” Meng Sheng glanced at Xu Hei’s position, raising an eyebrow, ”Oh? I almost forgot, you’re a great contributor. It’s no surprise you can enter the Penglai Palace.”

He bypassed Xu Hei, disappearing in a flash.

Having experienced so much, Xu Hei could tell that Meng Sheng was mocking him.

The Penglai Palace had always been accessible only to the three island lords and the top core high-level figures. Xu Hei was the first junior to enter.

However, he wasn’t reckless and simply asked, ”What happened just now?”

He glanced at the master’s expression, having a vague guess.

”Meng Sheng, under the guise of helping manage, stole the Four Seas and Eight Desolations Formation and took the Water Kylin’s island lord token, controlling all formations in the Penglai Sea.”

”In short, from today, he calls the shots here.”

The master’s face was gloomy, clearly suppressing his anger.

Xu Hei raised an eyebrow and asked, ”When did he do this?”

”While we were clearing the pollution,” the master replied.

Xu Hei nodded.

During the battle with the sea god, Meng Sheng never showed up, hiding in the shadows to do these things, yet still acting so righteous.

It’s utterly ridiculous.

Submissive to outsiders, yet harsh on his own people, such troublemakers exist everywhere!

”How did someone like him become an island lord?” Xu Hei wondered.

The master sighed, ”Don’t underestimate Meng Sheng. His strength and skills are commendable, and he manages affairs efficiently. Apart from his ambition, there’s almost nothing to fault.”

”Moreover, from the plans he showed me, letting him manage the Penglai Sea might actually revive this stagnant place.”

With that, the master took out a jade slip and handed it to Xu Hei.